


Cougars and Their Cubs

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-19
Updated: 2011-10-19
Packaged: 2017-10-24 18:33:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/266579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I'm not good at…the mating ritual.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cougars and Their Cubs

**Author's Note:**

> Bus rides home give me the best story ideas.

“Don’t turn around.”

“Oh my God, why?” Emily asked, groaning. “I hate when this happens. Is it someone I went to high school with? Oh Lord, is it an ex? I just wanted to have a quiet evening tonight.”

“It’s your Unit Chief.” Her stepmother replied.

“Hotch?” Emily turned around so fast she nearly got whiplash.

“Emily.” Natalie scolded.

They were both watching him now, partially concealed by greenery. Emily met her stepmother for dinner that evening at Camille in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was their favorite restaurant because there was something on the menu for every taste. Both Emily and Natalie liked trying new things...it was never a disappointment.

About four tables over and to the right, Aaron Hotchner sat with an attractive blonde. She was talking, a lot, and to the naked eye Hotch was enraptured. His body language, however, showed discomfort. Emily was sure she’d never seen him so uncomfortable since she’d known him.

“What is he doing here?” she mumbled.

“It looks like he’s on a date.” Natalie replied.

“I can see that.” Emily glared at her stepmother. “Of all the restaurants in the metropolitan area,” she turned to look at him again. “he had to show up at this one. Who’s that woman?”

Hotch caught sight of a woman staring at him and Emily quickly turned away. She needed to stop thinking about him; she came out tonight to be normal. It was a free country…he was there and so was she. That’s was the end of it. With a deep breath, Emily finished her chicken and sipped her white wine.

“Have you thought about dating again?” Natalie asked.

“I think about a lot of things. It’s not worth it.”

“Why not?”

“Because guys usually hate my hours. Not to mention if I meet one that’s worth the extra time, I always seem to say something really geeky and ruin the whole thing. Trust me Nat; you’re not the only one who thought I would be married by now.”

“I never said anything about marriage.” Natalie replied. “Besides, I think the right man is already in your life.”

“Hmm, let’s test that theory, shall we? I think I could have some fun with this. There’s Rossi, who is amazing but I have absolutely no interest in being Wife #4. Reid is sweet but way too young and we have next to nothing in common.

"I could actually see Morgan and I attempting a romance but he’s not interested in commitment right now. Besides, I would never step on Penelope’s toes. I know they’re not together but friends don’t steal friends’ dream guys. So nope,” Emily shook her head. “he’s not in my life.”

“You know more men than that. You left out someone; a lot of some ones.”

Emily didn’t respond. Her dinner was good and she wanted to enjoy her evening. She wanted to discuss movies she was too busy to see and books she was too busy to read. She didn’t want to discuss her love life, or lack thereof. Perhaps it was lacking even more than Emily thought.

“She’s leaving.” Natalie said while the server removed their dinner dishes.

“What do you mean?” Emily tried to look out of the corner of her eye but it made her head hurt.

“They’re standing, he’s kissing her cheek, and she’s walking away.”

“What's Hotch doing now?”

“Sitting down and looking at the check.”

“That’s a crap way to end the evening.” Emily said.

“Agreed.”

“Would you ladies be interested in dessert?” their server Sam asked, handing them menus. “The special tonight is a strawberry and chocolate fondue that has been quite popular.”

“We’ll take a look at the menu.” Natalie replied.

“Very good ma'am. Just let me know what satisfies you.”

They smiled at each other before he walked away. Emily raised her eyebrow.

“Let me know what satisfies you? Oh my God, he is totally flirting. He’s been flirting all night. I wasn’t sure at first but I'm sure now. Let me know what satisfies you? Oh my God.”

“Oh my God what?” Natalie asked. “Last time I checked I still had it.”

“Of course you do, but he’s 25 if he’s a minute. He’s younger than Reid.”

“Young men have been quite flirty lately. I think it’s the whole Cougar thing. Every young man wants one.”

“You know about Cougars?” Emily asked.

“I'm an older woman, Em, not a dead one. I read and watch TV. It’s not a new concept anyway; almost all coming of age stories for young men involve something with an older woman. Even if it’s just a fantasy.”

“Nat, you are one hot mama. You better not let Daddy see these young guys flirting with you.”

“It’s rampant at State. Yes, I know I met my husband there but these days it’s like a dating service. They may have to reinstitute the antiquated ‘no fraternization’ rule.” Natalie said.

“Ah yes, no fraternization. I feel their pain.” Emily opened her menu but didn’t look at it. “I'm going to use the ladies room. When Sam comes back, order me a cup of coffee and a slice of double chocolate heaven cake with extra whipped cream.”

“Alright darling.”

Emily got up and walked away from the table. Natalie finished her glass of Four Graces Pinot Blanc as she looked over the dessert menu. There were so many wonderful things to choose from and she could only get one. Strawberry shortcake would be phenomenal; mango crepes probably even better.

“Excuse me, Agent Hotchner?”

“Do I know you?” Hotch turned around when he heard his name. There was something familiar about the woman’s face but he couldn’t place her. She was attractive, with graying reddish blonde hair and blue eyes. He was usually excellent with names, how come he could not remember hers?

“Natalie Prentiss.”

“Oh hello Mrs. Prentiss,” he walked over and extended his hand. “how nice to see you again. Are you eating alone?”

“Emily stepped away for just a moment. Are you leaving?”

“Yes ma'am.”

“Don’t; join us for dessert.” Natalie smiled.

“I wouldn’t want to intrude.” Hotch replied.

“Don’t be silly, no intrusion. Please.”

“Alright,” Hotch nodded. “I’ll just have some coffee. The broiled lamb chops were quite filling.”

“I'm sure. Do you come here often?”

“This was my first time.”

“Emily and I love it here, we…ah, there she is.”

“Hotch.” Emily didn’t know what else to say.

“Hello.” He stood as she approached. “Your stepmother invited me to stay for dessert. I really hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t.” she let him pull out her chair, sitting as he did the same. “What are you doing here?”

“Um…” he cleared his throat. “Blind date.”

“You went out on a blind date tonight?”

“Well…”

He was blessedly interrupted by the arrival of Sam the server. He flirted mercilessly with Natalie through their dessert order of chocolate cake, mango crepes, and three cups of coffee. Emily looked at Hotch as he walked away.

“Hotch, you're a man.”

“Last time I checked.” He replied smiling.

“Do you think Sam the server was flirting with my mother?”

“Oh, I've never been good with that kind of thing. I wouldn’t know.”

“You're not good at flirting?” Natalie asked.

“I'm not good at…the mating ritual.”

“Perhaps you're just rusty.” Natalie said.

“Rusty is a good term.” He laughed.

“So, a blind date?” Emily asked. “How did that come about?”

“My inability to just say no.” Hotch replied. “I was uncomfortable but he wouldn’t leave it alone.”

“Rossi?”

“Yes.”

“Did you have a nice time?” Natalie asked.

“Danielle was a lovely woman but she was called away to a job emergency. She works for the DoD, we have nothing in common, and I didn’t really like her laugh. Laughs are important.”

“I've rarely seen you laugh.” Emily said.

“But when you did…did you like it?”

“It’s fuzzy, it’s been a while.”

That made Hotch laugh and Emily could admit that she definitely liked it. Dessert arrived as Hotch was asking how Ambassador Prentiss was doing.

“Greg is just fine.” Natalie replied. “He’s currently traveling on business; I'm expecting him home sometime next week.”

“Does he still travel a lot for work?” Hotch asked.

“More than I would like.”

“Forgive me but um, is that stressful…on your relationship?”

“No.” Natalie shook her head. “Gregory is devoted to his work. I love him; I accept that because I know he is devoted to me as well. I don’t always come first in his head but definitely in his heart. You can't change a man; you can only love him and make sure he doesn’t drive himself to an early grave. We both compromise. I travel for work as well.”

“Yes, I hear there’s a strong possibility that you are both international spies.”

“You’ve been reading far too many novels, Agent Hotchner.” Natalie replied smiling.

“That’s what you’re supposed to say.”

Natalie laughed and Hotch smiled. Emily smiled as well. She liked how comfortable he was with her stepmother, even if he couldn’t look her in the eye. He was probably mortified from being caught out on a date but she wasn’t sure. She was never sure of anything when it came to Aaron Hotchner.

“You want to try some of this cake?” Emily asked. “It’s amazing.”

“No thank you, my coffee is fine. Mrs. Prentiss tells me you come here a lot.”

“I love food and the menu here is sublime. It changes frequently but each change seems to be better than the last. The chef, Chris Olmstead, loves to experiment.”

“My brother is a chef, did I tell you that?”

“No.” Emily shook her head.

“I thought I had. He gave up Georgetown Law to follow his dream. He works at the 21 Club in New York.”

“Their food is amazing.” Natalie replied. “Gregory and I eat there whenever we’re in town. Sean Hotchner…I never put that together. He is a fantastic chef.”

Hotch was proud to hear it. It wasn’t often that he and Sean found time to talk, they were both so busy. To know people enjoyed his meals made his big brother happy. Strangely, knowing Sean connected him to Emily, even in the loosest of terms, made him happy as well.

“I think I may try that cake, if the offer still stands.” Hotch said.

Emily handed him a fork.

“Be careful, you may not be able to handle the decadence.”

“I think I’ll be OK.”

“Make sure you get some of that whipped cream.”

Hotch nodded, doing what she said. The cake was delicious and he ended up sharing most of it with her. It was a big piece and Emily could only smile when Hotch wiped whipped cream from her cheek with a napkin. He then sampled a piece of Natalie’s crepe.

“Really, I can't eat another bite.” He said, drinking his coffee. “I appreciate the offer though.”

“Anytime. I'm glad I convinced you to stay.” Natalie said. “You're excellent company.”

“Thank you ma'am.”

“Natalie is fine.”

“I’ll try but I make no promises.” Hotch said.

“Yeah Nat, he’s a country boy at heart.” Emily replied. “Hotch was raised right…he’s a sir and ma'am kind of guy.”

“A mother’s dream.”

Sam the server returned to take dishes and leave the check. Natalie and Emily both laughed.

“What?” Hotch asked. “Did I miss something?”

“You're about to witness something no man has ever seen.” Emily said.

“Should I be frightened?”

“We’re going to challenge each other to see who pays the check.” Natalie said.

“Why don’t you just let…?”

“Don’t even think about it.” The two women replied in unison.

“Are you ready Em?” Natalie asked.

“On three.”

“One, two, three.”

The Prentiss women shook their fists three times. Natalie came up with rock and Emily paper. The young woman laughed.

“You always do rock.” She said. “Rock beats nothing.”

“Rock beats scissors…you could have done scissors. You do realize that by winning you lose?”

“It’s a 50-50.”

They were both laughing again, perplexing their male companion. Emily grabbed the bill book, looked at it, and slipped her American Express card in. Hotch looked at her and she looked back at him.

“Get it out of your head.” She said.

“You can't read my mind.” He replied.

“I don’t need to; I'm a profiler.”

“We’re not allowed to profile each other.”

Emily just smiled, flagging Sam over to take the bill. When it was settled the three of them walked out into the cool autumn night. There was a storm brewing, fat grey clouds filled the purple-black sky.

“I have a surprise for you.” Natalie said.

“What?”

She pulled the box of cloves from her purse and Emily gasped. She threw her arms around her stepmother.

“Where did you get these from?”

“Your father brought them the last time he was in Kiev. Don’t tell him I'm sharing; you're not supposed to be smoking.”

“I love you, Nat. Not just for the cloves of course but…”

“I know, love.” She kissed Emily’s cheek. “Enjoy them.”

“Do you need a ride home, Prentiss?” Hotch asked, filing away in his mind that Ukrainian cigarettes excited her.

“I guess so. Natalie picked me up but I don’t like the idea of her driving me home and then back here with a storm brewing. Are you sure it’s not an inconvenience?”

“Not at all. I just had a lovely dessert and you wouldn’t let me pay so I insist.”

“Alright. Call me when you get home safely.” Emily said, hugging her stepmother again and kissing her cheek.

“Text me when you do. Agent Hotchner,” Natalie kissed his cheek. “We should do this again sometime.”

“I would love to ma'am.”

Hotch insisted on walking Natalie to her car, a silver Beamer, and then he and Emily walked back in the direction of his truck. They didn’t talk much as thunder rumbled in the skies over their heads. Emily would look at him while he looked straight ahead, then he would do the same.

“I'm sorry.” He said.

“If you let me smoke one of these on the way home, all is forgiven.”

“I don't know if it should be that easy.”

“Well it is this time.”

Hotch nodded, not responding for a while. He took a deep breath as they reached his Chevy Silverado. He held the door for Emily.

“Done.” He said.

“Apology accepted.”

He smiled, sliding into the driver’s seat. No sooner had Hotch put on his seatbelt did it start to rain. It fell steadily but not too hard. Emily cracked her window, pushing in Hotch’s lighter as he started the ignition. The local classic rock station played Queen and Emily was happy to bop her head to Under Pressure.

“I didn’t know you smoked.” He said, watching her light up.

“I told you that I did.”

“No, you said once, more than once, that you’ve done a lot of things. That is an enigmatic yet intriguing answer to any question I could possibly ask.”

“I told you that I smoked, Hotch.”

“You didn’t.”

“Just drive.” Emily replied, inhaling deeply and letting the cherry vanilla flavor fill her senses.

“My father died of lung cancer.” Hotch said.

“I know.”

“I won't be one of those nags that warn you of the harsh effects of smoking. I figure if you get those from the Ukraine you can't be smoking them very often.”

“They're definitely an infrequent indulgence.”

Fleetwood Mac replaced Queen and Hotch let the music fill the empty spaces of their silence. He didn’t know what to say; he hated that feeling.

“I'm sorry.”

“Hotch stop saying that…I've accepted your apology.”

“I went on a date with someone else.” He reasoned.

“And what lesson did you learn from that adventure?” Emily asked.

“That I should learn to say no, or that I should have just told the truth. There’s just one problem with that.”

“There’s never a problem with the truth.” She replied.

“There is when you don’t know what it is.”

“OK, you got me there.”

There was more silence as Emily smoked and moved her head to the music on the radio. Hotch paid close attention to the road. Friday night traffic was heavy and the rain only made it worse. She flicked her cigarette out the window before rolling it up. Emily turned her full attention to her Unit Chief.

“Camille is a pretty fancy spot for a blind date.” She said.

“I didn’t pick it.”

“No?”

“Dave did. Emily, are you going to accept my apology and yet torture me about this for the rest of forever?” Hotch asked.

“I don't know…is the rest of forever an option?”

When he glanced at her, she was grinning and it made Hotch do the same. He finally made it to the Watergate Suites, pulling into the underground parking lot so Emily wouldn’t get wet going up to her condo. Taking one of the guest spaces, Hotch cut the engine.

“I think it’s lucky I ran into you.” She said.

“Why?” he asked.

“Do you want to come up?”

“Coffee?”

“No.”

“Tea?”

“No.” Emily shook her head.

“Mmm, cookies?”

“Hotch!” she exclaimed, laughing.

“Yes.”

“C'mon.”

He got out, going around to her side and opening her door. They walked to the elevator and when the doors closed, her iPhone rang.

“Hey Nat.”

“I'm home.”

“You just got home?” Emily asked.

“No, your father called to say goodnight.”

“It’s after midnight in…where is he?”

“The Hague; he has three speaking engagements at the Academy. He always calls to say goodnight.”

“You two are so cute it makes my teeth hurt.” Emily said.

“I was thinking the same thing about you and a certain someone.”

“Whatever. Is the house locked; the alarm on?”

“Yes ma'am.” Natalie laughed.

“Alright. Well, I'm home too so I’ll probably talk to you in the next couple of days.”

“He’s with you, isn’t he?”

“Goodnight, Nat. I love you.”

“Love you too. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Emily hung up the phone and unlocked her door. Walking into her condo, she was greeted eagerly by her Abyssinian, George.

“Hello, baby.” She picked the cat up as Hotch locked up behind him. She placed a kiss on his head before putting him down. George went to circle around Hotch’s feet, leaving his scent all over him.

“I think I know what I'm going to tell Rossi the next time he offers me a blind date.” He said.

“I'm all ears.”

He took hold of her hand, pulling her against him. Hotch’s hands caressed her hips before circling around her waist. Emily smiled and pressed a kiss over his heart.

“I'm going to tell him that there is an amazing woman I know. She smokes cloves from Eastern Europe and is the master of rock, paper, scissors. She loves her mother, her cat, and chocolate cake. She has fantastic hips and an angel’s smile.

"And one of these days I'm going to be lucky enough to make passionate love to her. She makes me feel things I’d forgotten how to feel. She even makes me break the rules because she’s worth it. So that’s why I'm never going out on another blind date.”

“And if he asks her name?” Emily whispered, tilting her head up to tease his lips.

“Emily Katherine Evangeline Prentiss.” He kissed her.

Emily moaned, pulling him closer as he deepened the kiss. She moved her hands over the nape of his neck, up and through his black hair. Hotch cupped her ass.

“Mmm,” he hardly wanted to move away from her. He didn’t go too far.

“You want to know why I'm lucky I ran into you?” Emily asked.

“Tell me.”

“You're not going home tonight. What time do you have to pick up Jack in the morning?”

“Eleven.”

“You know you're sleeping in tomorrow, right?”

“I haven’t slept in since…I have no idea when.”

“It won't be hard; you'll be quite exhausted.”

Hotch smiled, kissing her again and thinking he was the lucky one. He was lucky she didn’t eviscerate him for his stupidity tonight. He was lucky to be in her life, in her arms, and in her heart. He was lucky that Emily Prentiss’s desire was to be in his.

***


End file.
